The union of the intelligentsia is concerned about the torture of activists

Baku/14.08.17/Turan: On Monday, representatives of the intelligentsia held a debate on the difficult conditions of detention of arrested political activists and believers. During the meeting in the office of the "Union of Intellectuals", the head of this public structure and member of the National Council of Democratic Forces Eldaniz Guliyev, expressed concern to the public about the facts of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners.

"The authorities have tightened the pressure and punishment on opposition figures, the reports of torture of arrested believers in Gobustan prison are of particular concern," he said. He further referred to the illegal arrest of the deputy chairman of the Popular Front Party Geyzal Bayramli and the journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, a religious leader Sheikh Sardar. Guliyev separately focused on the facts of torture of the leader of the movement Muslim Unity Tale Bagirzade and his deputy Abbas Huseyn in Gobustan prison.

"After all this, one cannot remain silent," he noted, referring to medieval tortures against Abbas Huseyn on the part of prison guards. The mother of the latter, Rahim Huseynova, said she was looking for a place to find her son from July 20. After that, she was told that her son and Tale Bagirzade died. "It turns out all this time they were tortured in prison, and Abbas was beaten, and then actually crucified and in such a kind kept under the scorching sun," said the mother. "Why do they torture our children: they sold the lands to the Armenians, plundered the oil money, betrayed their homeland?", she resented.

The wife of the convicted deputy PFPA Fuad Gahramanly Zumrud and former MP Ibrahim Ibrahimli accused the authorities of repression against their political opponents. As a result, thousands of people were persecuted, arrested and tortured. "However, the last wave of repression is very cruel," he said.

Former political prisoner, editor of the newspaper "Khural" Avaz Zeynalli believes that the authorities decided to take up the faithful after they decided that they had cracked down on the democratic opposition. "However, it only seems to them," he added. In conclusion, the participants in the discussions adopted an appeal to the authorities demanding that the torture of arrested political activists and believers be stopped. -05B-